13 Years And Counting

Thirteen years ago, Goose and I were married in our wee little church, with nearly 150 people crammed into the tiny space. We were married only a few weeks after the 9/11 attacks, and Goose’s original honeymoon plans had a serious monkey wrench thrown into them. He had made it look like we were going to go north for a week. In November. What he actually had planned was a week at a B&B in South Carolina, which would have been much more to my liking. In the interests of safety, we modified our plans and stayed a little closer to home. We headed down the road the morning after our wedding to The Old Bridge Place B&B in West Montrose. It was a fantastic place, full of history. We were actually the first guests to stay in the honeymoon suite, which was part of the old gas station. The other half of the station was being used as a general store.

The weather was significantly warmer that year. Sure, snow had dusted the ground, but the grass was still clearly visible, unlike this year.

The Kissing Bridge was calm and serene. The only traffic that day were the horse and buggies, travelling to and from church.

It was everything a honeymoon should be: peaceful, relaxing. Perfect.

Thinking some variety might be a good idea and that perhaps I’d like to go shopping, Goose only booked our first few nights there. The second half we spent in Toronto, at another B&B. One that was markedly different. This one did not have it’s own parking. Instead, after heading down Gerrard Street, you were given the key to unlock a fence and park behind a second B&B. The one with hourly rates and mannequins in black lather in the window. You get the picture.

In the spring of 2008, we stayed at the Olde Bridge Place again. This time, we were attending a family wedding and decided to extend the time away into a mini vacation. Things had both changed and stayed the same. The general store was gone and in it’s place was another guest room. The main house was now for the family. Breakfast was supplied in your room, in the form of local pastries and seasonal fruits. It was while we were there that we cemented the idea that it was time for a change, and that the Kitchener-Waterloo area would be a fantastic place to place down our family’s roots. Six short months later, we had packed up and moved.

For our anniversary this year, Goose was actually travelling. He usually finds a way for us to spend the day by ourselves, just exploring. This year, he completely surprised me by managing to take a day off while he was still home, and even arranging for E4 to go visit with a neighbour for the day. After a late breakfast and a stroll downtown, he surprised me with a visit to Olde Bridge Place. We spent the afternoon with the new owner Dee, and hearing about her plans for the place. It was a fantastic way to end an incredibly beautiful day. It has been quite a year for us. Goose has been employed by no less than three different companies (an unemployed for 9 weeks in there, too). He has worked in town and in Toronto. He has commuted for anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour and twenty minutes. He now drives 12 minutes and travels for 3-4 days, once a quarter. There are still four kids and two cats and a dog. There are a few more grey hairs and a few more pounds on each of us. It has been quite the ride. But I can’t say that I would have ever made it this far with anyone else by my side. Here’s to our road, Goose.